236 report — 1845. 



rather widely toothed on both limbs, the teeth at the corner coarser. Gill-covev short and 

 triangular, with a sub-acute, triangular bony tip, and an oblique, acute notch above it. No 

 scales on the lower jaw, but the fore part of the maxillary and the preorbitar and suborbital* 

 chain, with the rest of the side of the head up to the extreme edges of the gill-cover, are finely 

 scaly. Supra-scapular spinously toothed. 



The scales are rough like those of a Priacanthus. The lateral line is arched to under the 

 third dorsal spine, when it descends, and is a little undulated under the soft dorsal. No 

 scales on the spinous dorsal ; but the bases of the soft dorsal, anal, pectoral and caudal are scaly. 

 A stout recumbent spine precedes the soft dorsal. Second anal spine much stronger and 

 larger than the third, which does not much exceed the first one. 



Scales generally bright and silvery : a bright silvery border edges the lower part of the 

 operculum, and the cheek is also bright, but the rest of the head has a dark neutral tint or 

 bluish-gray. The upper half of the body, the tail and the vertical fins are marked by round 

 spots of the same. There is also a bluish-gray band on the hind head, another descending 

 from the nape to behind the pectoral, and a third, descending from the anterior half of the 

 spinous dorsal, curves when it reaches the lateral line backwards along the tail, much like the 

 curved band of Diacope sehce. The ground colour of the pectorals, spinous, dorsal and caudal 

 is sienna- or ochre-yellow ; that of the soft dorsal and anal olive-green. Ventrals hair- brown, 

 edged like the spinous dorsal with brownish-black. Length 4£ inches. 



Hab. China seas. Canton. (Spec. Brit. Mus.) 



Hapalogenys nigripinnis, Temm. et Schl. {Pogonias) ; F. J. Sieb. p. 59. 

 pi. 25. Bad. B. 6 ; D. 11|16 vel 17 ; A. 3|8 vel 9, &c. 



A specimen of Burger's in the British Museum, which is doubtless an example of this spe- 

 cies, though it was labelled when received from Berlin Pogonias melanopterus, differs from the 

 figure in the ' Fauna Japonica,' in having a rather less concave profile and a somewhat differ- 

 ently shaped profile. It has a recumbent spine before the dorsal, which is not noticed by its 

 describers, and the scales which partially cover the dorsal are omitted in the figure they have 

 given. The species differs from the other members of the genus named above, in the papillae 

 of the under-lip being sufficiently elongated to produce a beard, and it therefore stands in the 

 same relation to them that Pogonias does to Micropogon. 



Hab. Japanese sea. 



Anoplus banjos, Temm. et Schl. F. J. p. 17. pi. 8. Banjos, Voy. de Kru- 

 senst. pi. 54. f. 1. Bad. D. 10|12; A. 3|7 ; C. I7f ; V. 1|5. (Burgers 

 Spec.) 



The conjectures of the authors of this genus, that the Coius polota of Buchanan a«d-Hamil- 

 ton is a second species, have been found to be correct by Edward Blyth, Esq., who has ascer- 

 tained that the Indian fish wants the recumbent dorsal spine of Hapalogenys. The Coius bino- 

 tatus, Gray, Hardw. Illustr., is said by Mr. Blyth to be merely a variety of polota. A Japa- 

 nese species of Anoplus collected by Burger exists in the British Museum. 



Hab. Sea of Japan. 



Scolopsides rupelii, C. et V. v. p. 332. Sc. kurite, RUppell, Atl. p. 3. 

 taf. 2. fig. 3 ; Icon. Reeves, 47 ; Hardw. Acanth. 48. Chinese name, 

 Hung hae tsih, "Red sea-rule" (Reeves, Birch). Bad. D. 10|9 ; A. 3|7; 

 P. 17, &c. (Spec. Br. Mus.) 



The differences between this fish and Scolopsides hate (C. et V. v. p. 329 ; Bl. 325. f. 2) 

 appear to be extremely slight, or at least they are not very clearly exposed in the ' Histoire 

 des Poissons.' Bloch says that his specimen came from the sea of Japan, and it is highly 

 probable that he had the rupelii before him even if the Malabar hate be a distinct species. 

 The British Museum possesses a Chinese specimen of rupelii, presented by Mr. Reeves. 

 Villiform teeth, long and slender. Two suborbitar teeth pointing backwards, one under the 

 other and more slender ; none pointing forwards. A small angle of bone on the edge of the 

 operculum, not spinous. 



Hab. Red sea and seas of China and Japan. 



Scolopsides inermis, Temm. et Schl. F. J. Sieb. p. 63. pi. 28; Icon. 

 Reeves, 262; Hardw. Acanth. 57. Bad. D. 10|9; A. 3|7; C. 17; P. 18; 

 V.l|5. (Spec. Br. Mus.) 

 The British Museum has Mr. Reeves's specimen of this fish. The drawing differs from the 



